Posts: 3

Topic: Black panther?

As I was driving down I-40 from Okc to Rogers this past friday, just passing ft. Smith exit taking the curve around towards fayetteville. On the side of ramp highway was a large black cat that had been hit by a vehicle. It was not alive. I noticed the large paws on the back legs. I wanted to turn around and go back but not possible on the ramp. If anyone..game warden or pedestrian follows up on this please post findings.

Re: Black panther?

I've heard that a few people keep large non-domestic cats (& other large predators like wolves) in & around the Ozarks (legal or otherwise). It sounds like someone's "pet" got loose...? How sad, but it could have been tragic had the cat killed someone. I do not think such animals should be "privately owned"...most of those doing so are doing it for the wrong reason, and either don't take the proper precautions for security, legality & the health of the animal, or they don't have the consistent means to do so....and that cat you saw certainly didn't belong running wild. Nor did it deserve such a sad ending. It may have been intentionally turned loose once it got too big to manage & was no longer cute as a "pet" (or was too expensive to feed, or was too scary to be around...so many things go wrong with large wild animals even when owners start out with "good intentions".)